Artisanal, smallscale miners vie for checklist environment management plan

ARTISANAL and smallscale gold miners in Zimbabwe are advocating a “checklist”-style “user-focused” environmental management plan requirement, where miners are closely involved in the process, instead of a more expensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) consultancy report-writing system, a researcher has said.

Sam Spiegel, a lecturer in International Development and Director of Research, Centre of African Studies and University of Edinburgh, who conducted research in Zimbabwe’s artisanal and smallscale gold mining sector in 2005, told NewsDay that the $5 000 EIA charged by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) was inhibitive for most mining communities.

“One of the major issues articulated by artisanal miners is that it is very difficult and expensive to meet the EIA requirements, as this requires paying a consultant more than $5 000, which is inhibitive for most mining communities,” he said.

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